In a surprise piece of news, Deadline is reporting that Shogun star Hiroyuki Sanada has signed a deal to return for a second season of the series, which FX is currently trying to develop.
Sanada starred in the series as Lord Yoshii Toranaga, who was the main character of the series. Shogun followed Toranaga’s journey to become shōgun and lead Japan. Deadline notes that other deals are still being worked on and finalized, but the plan is to try and bring back Shogun for a second season following the praise its received upon premiering.
It’s unclear exactly what exactly the second season would be about, as the first season covered the contents of the book that it was based on, ending similarly to where the 1975 James Clavell novel did.
Following its premiere, Shogun quickly became a hit series for FX, and was the company’s most-watched premiere across various streaming platforms.
Shogun co-creator expressed willingness to do more
Last month, speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, co-creator and showrunner Justin Marks was asked about whether or not a second season of the series could happen. Marks hinted that they would be up for it if they could think of something, but also expressed hesitancy that they could go beyond the original novel’s ideas.
“I don’t know. I keep saying it’s like we want to let everyone be on the same page when it comes to the book,” said Marks. “And hopefully now the TV audience and the book audience are on the same page with what the story is and where it resolves. I think if we had a story, if we could find a story, we would be open to it. But I don’t think that anyone ever wants to be out over their skis without a roadmap and everything. And it’s also just about, do people want more of it?”
